One In Five for Sunday 21 November 2010

The Learning Connection

Once upon a time, I used to travel to work by train on Wellington's Hutt Valley line. That's because I was gainfully employed at what was then DSIR Soil Bureau's main campus at Taita. Just to give you a clue as to how long ago that was, trains still had carriages where you could smoke…That's all in the past. Nowadays, the old Soil Bureau campus has been transformed into the headquarters of the Learning Connexion's international school of art and creativity - and the venue for some exciting initiatives around including disabled people.We meet up with art student Darryl Kennedy, and tutor Marcel Baaijens.

An example of Darryl Kennedy's work.

Mike Gourley interviews art student Darryl Kennedy (left) with the help of support person George Waterson.

A heady mix

During the Human Rights Commission's Diversity forum a few months back, I had a chance to meet up with Graham Innes. He's a Blind bloke and Human Rights counterpart in Australia, having held down the job of Disability Discrimination Commissioner for some time now. But Graham Innes says he's recently added Race Discrimination to his portfolio.